2026 Ottawa Race Weekend - The Full Recap

Thanks to Dream Shot for partnering with me! Learn more about Dream Shot — the first Sleep Peptide for Athletes, melatonin-free and proven to improve sleep quality by 70%. Head to my link https://thefeed.yt.link/fARV23U for 40% off your first purchase! Ottawa always hits different. There's something about running through the streets of the nation's capital, the crowds, the course, the energy of Race Weekend, that makes it one of my favorite weekends of the year. And this one did not disappoint. Coming in just five weeks after running a 2:06:04 PB at Boston, I wasn't sure exactly what my legs had left. The goal was simple: execute a smart race, compete hard, and close out my marathon season with something I could be proud of. On a cool, rainy Sunday with over 16,800 runners filling the streets of Ottawa, that's exactly what happened. The lead pack stayed together deep into the race, all the way through 35K before things really started to split apart. When our pacer stepped off, I pushed to the front and found myself in the mix with some serious competition. Elvis Cheboi eventually made his move and nobody could answer as he ran a hell of a race. I crossed the line in 2:09:43, third overall and top Canadian on the day. This one felt like a proper cap on what's been an incredible marathon season. Sub-60 in Houston, a PB in Boston, podiums in Ottawa back-to-back years. I'm proud of this chapter. Now it's time to recover and start thinking about what's next. Thanks for following along, this video takes you inside Race Weekend, the race itself, and everything that went into it. 🔔 Subscribe for more racing content, training vlogs, and the behind-the-scenes journey. ———————————————————————————————— FOLLOW ME HERE: ▶ Instagram:   / rory_linkletter   ▶ Strava:   / strava   ▶ Subscribe to the Out & Back Podcast on YouTube:    / @outandbackpodcast   ▶ Out & Back Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7jMJDqz... ▶ Out & Back Podcast IG:   / _out_n_back   ▶ X: https://x.com/ThePapaLinks?mx=2 Strava: Tuesday. May 19th, 2026 7x1k, 5x400m   / strava   Sunday, May 24th, Ottawa Marathon- 3rd in 2:09   / strava   Puma Shoes: Workout/Race Shoe (FAST-R NITRO™ Elite 3) Daily Training Shoe (Velocity NITRO™ 4) Easy Mileage Training Shoe (PUMA ForeverRun NITRO™ 2) Long Run Shoe (Deviate NITRO™ Elite 4) Produced by Scott Barker, STAMINA MEDIA, LLC ▶ Instagram:   / stamina_media   ▶ Website: https://www.stamina-media.com ▶ Contact: [email protected] Ottawa Videography by John Liu ▶ Instagram:   / johnwithlenses   ▶ Portfolio: https://www.johnliu.ca/?utm_source=ig... ———————————————————————————————— 0:00 Intro 0:37 Tune-Up WO in Flagstaff 5:17 Back in Ottawa 6:48 The Shakeout Podcast with John Gay 9:55 What to Expect for the Race 14:35 Prepping the Bottles 21:03 Talking about Dream Shot from the Feed 22:26 Race Day 29:00 FaceTiming Jill 30:30 Awards 31:36 Getting Fresh Ink 33:05 The Finish From The Broadcast 34:05 Outro - Post Race with Friends ———————————————————————————————— 🎵 Copyrighted music licensed from Lickd. https://lickd.co Send Me On My Way by Rusted Root, https://t.lickd.co/l/ANlqGroeEzO